


Ghost in the Machine (prologue)

by PositronicHeart



Series: Ghost in the Machine [1]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Mental Health Issues, i don't know how to tag this it's just a prologue, stuff about mental illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:01:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25802542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PositronicHeart/pseuds/PositronicHeart
Summary: The Soong family has many dark secrets. But perhaps their deepest secret, is the truth of what happened the night Lore and Data came into the world.
Series: Ghost in the Machine [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873012
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	Ghost in the Machine (prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! It's been a long time since I posted on this website, but as a treat for not being active (and to celebrate one year since I made this account) here is the prologue to a story I've been working on for the past two years. This is my headcanon for Data's backstory, since so much of his origins are left mysterious and unexplored. You might find it a bit wild, but be sure to read the notes at the end for a bit more explanation. Enjoy!

_When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state, and trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, and look upon myself and curse my fate, wishing me like to one more rich in hope_

_-Sonnet 29, William Shakespeare_

The Soong family was ripe with hereditary illnesses. Physical, mental. Being a Soong most assuredly meant being doomed for life. Dr. Noonien Soong knew this, for he had had to suffer through these things his whole life. That is why he was against having children. He did not want his child to suffer through the same hell he, and all the rest of his family had to.

But his wife, Juliana, desperately wanted children. She knew the risks envolved in having a Soong's baby, but she didn't care. Noonien however, was not willing to risk it. Not his child. They argued about this for the longest time. Until one day, without warning, Juliana became pregnant with two twin boys, Lore and Data. Noonien was frightened to his very core. Not just one child but two. Two poor sons who would have to deal with the same horror as he did. He convinced her to keep it quiet, and the only other person who knew about it was her close friend Luna Moon. When the time finally came, February second, 2337, she was the one to deliver the babies. And that was when it happened. Both of the babies were born with a serious heart condition. The trauma of birth was too much for their fragile bodies and had triggered an episode; they only had minutes to live. But Noonien had a plan. He knew something like this would happen, so he knew exactly what he had to do. He took the infants and transfered their brain waves into two android bodies.

The first born, Lore, had inherited what plaqued Soongs throughout the generations. Schizophrenia. And combined with the knowledge of having his humanity stripped away from him, promted his twisted behavior. The second born, Data, suffered from bipolar depression as well as autism.

When Lore set the Crystalline Entity upon the Omicron Theta colony, Noonien and Juliana planned their escape. Although the very thought of leaving his own son behind was enough to tear Noonien's soul apart, he knew it was necessary. He knew he wasn't capable of being a suitable father to him, and being associated with the Soongs would only make his life harder. He wanted to give him a chance at life, but the only way he could do that was to abandon him. So he left him behind at the ruins of the colony, and escaped with his wife. He stripped Data of his emotions because he thought that without them, Data would be free of the loneliness and sorrow which inslaved him. Little did he know that the opposite would be true.

Juliana fell ill shortly after, partly due to injuries, and partly due to heartache. Eventually, she passed away. But before that happened, Noonien transferred her mind into the body of an android, just like he did with his sons. He didn't want to lose her too. More importently, he wanted to give her a second chance at life. He knew she couldn't go on without her sons, so he stripped her of her memories of them. Sure, she knew about them. She knew she had helped create them. But only as androids. She had no idea that they had once been human. Or that they were indeed her children. It was the only way she could be truly happy.

Afterwords: Juliana left Noonien shortly after her transformation. She thought he cared more about his work than he did about her. But that could not have been farther from the truth. Thirty years later Noonien discovered he was dying, and wanted to see his sons one last time. He knew that it was also time to give Data back his emotion chip. He was always planning to give it back to him, he just wanted to wait until he was ready to experience them again. Three years after that Juliana got to see Data again. Of course she didn't remember that she gave birth to him, she simply thought that she had helped Noonien construct him. And of course, Lore encountered Data several times, and while his memories of his brother remained intact, he also knew the truth of their existence, and he knew that no matter what, Data must never be allowed to discover that truth.

This is the truth about Lore and Data. The Soong family's deepest secret.

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo yeah. So, back in early 2018 I had a dream where I was standing in a room watching a woman give birth. The woman was Juliana, and Noonien was standing beside her squeezing her hand while she screamed. There was another woman I didn't recognize delivering the babies, (I adapted her into the character of Luna Moon) but the babies were indeed Lore and Data. 
> 
> For quite a while I had no idea what to make of such a weird dream, but you know that feeling you get about a dream where it feels almost like it's real, even after you've awoken? I could not shake that feeling about this dream. So my Data loving ass said fuck it, this is my headcanon now. And to help make it seem more plausible, I spent the next few months rewatching every Data episode with a reference to his backstory or family, and filled in the gaps to fit my headcanon. Then I asked myself "what would happen if he had survived birth and lived as a human, with his family on Omicron Theta?" so I spent the next two years writing an entire story focused on the alternative timeline where Data and Lore survived birth as humans. 
> 
> There are still parts that I'm currently working on, but I very much hope to post it here once I'm finished. (it also includes all my explanations for how his backstory fits into canon.) It could be a while before you all get to see the completed story, (also it's pretty dark so it will have a higher rating) so for now just enjoy the prologue.
> 
> If you have any questions (which I'll bet you do) feel free to ask!


End file.
